Botswana: HIV Prevalence Reduces, But Still High
By, Monkagedi Gaotlhobogwe, Mmegi/The Reporter (Gaborone), July 31, 2007
The HIV/AIDS surveillance report for 2006 says HIV prevalence among pregnant women between the ages of 15 and 49 years in Botswana continues to slide downward, but the prevalence rate continues to be one of the highest in the world.
This year's sentinel surveillance survey also said it recorded the highest sample size ever used and the lowest exclusion rate in surveys done in Botswana.
However, the report, sponsored by the Ministry of Health, National Aids Coordinating Agency (NACA), World Health Organisation, UNAIDS, BOTUSA, ACHAP and the Botswana-Harvard School of Public Health AIDS Initiative, also warns that HIV prevalence among pregnant women in Botswana remains one of the highest in the world at 32.4%.
The report says a close look at statistical trends shows that the decline of HIV prevalence among pregnant women has been constant since 2001 except in 2003 when it took a sharp increase.
According to the report, the overall percentage decline in HIV prevalence from 2001 to 2006 is estimated at 10.5 per cent. "This decline was greatest among young people aged 20-24 (23.8 percent) followed by those aged 15-19 years (23.2 percent).
The report attributes the downward trend in HIV prevalence to the sharp increase in condom use among the youth aged between 15 and 24 years.
It says in general, males report a higher condom use than females and condom use remains generally stagnant across age groups between 2002 and 2005.
The adjusted HIV prevalence in Botswana among women (pregnant or not pregnant) continues to be high at 32.4 per cent for women between 15-49 years, according to the report.
Chobe District has the highest HIV prevalence of 42 per cent, and Selebi-Phikwe has HIV prevalence of 41.1 per cent.
In general, the report noted that HIV prevalence remains highest in the northern part of the country.
The report blames resistance to behavioural change as a contributing factor to high prevalence rates. "There doesn't seem to be much change in the trends of reported multiple partners for males and females," it says.
It says the percentage of sexually active young people increased from 2001 to 2003 and remained high since then.
" Sexual behaviour dynamics observed over the last five years based on data from surveys were not encouraging as far as their contributions to reducing HIV incidence," the report says.
It further added that apart from condom use with non-marital, non-cohabiting sex partners which was high among the 15-24 year olds, all other sexual behavior indicators included in the analysis have remained stagnant.
The report also observes that being single and living in cohabitation have been strongly associated with very high risk of HIV infection compared to living in marital union.
It was also discovered that educated women rarely fall pregnant, while domestic workers and women with primary education consistently recorded high HIV prevalence.
" The two variables are closely related to the impact of poverty on HIV transmission", says the report.
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/200707310966.html
The HIV/AIDS surveillance report for 2006 says HIV prevalence among pregnant women between the ages of 15 and 49 years in Botswana continues to slide downward, but the prevalence rate continues to be one of the highest in the world.
This year's sentinel surveillance survey also said it recorded the highest sample size ever used and the lowest exclusion rate in surveys done in Botswana.
However, the report, sponsored by the Ministry of Health, National Aids Coordinating Agency (NACA), World Health Organisation, UNAIDS, BOTUSA, ACHAP and the Botswana-Harvard School of Public Health AIDS Initiative, also warns that HIV prevalence among pregnant women in Botswana remains one of the highest in the world at 32.4%.
The report says a close look at statistical trends shows that the decline of HIV prevalence among pregnant women has been constant since 2001 except in 2003 when it took a sharp increase.
According to the report, the overall percentage decline in HIV prevalence from 2001 to 2006 is estimated at 10.5 per cent. "This decline was greatest among young people aged 20-24 (23.8 percent) followed by those aged 15-19 years (23.2 percent).
The report attributes the downward trend in HIV prevalence to the sharp increase in condom use among the youth aged between 15 and 24 years.
It says in general, males report a higher condom use than females and condom use remains generally stagnant across age groups between 2002 and 2005.
The adjusted HIV prevalence in Botswana among women (pregnant or not pregnant) continues to be high at 32.4 per cent for women between 15-49 years, according to the report.
Chobe District has the highest HIV prevalence of 42 per cent, and Selebi-Phikwe has HIV prevalence of 41.1 per cent.
In general, the report noted that HIV prevalence remains highest in the northern part of the country.
The report blames resistance to behavioural change as a contributing factor to high prevalence rates. "There doesn't seem to be much change in the trends of reported multiple partners for males and females," it says.
It says the percentage of sexually active young people increased from 2001 to 2003 and remained high since then.
" Sexual behaviour dynamics observed over the last five years based on data from surveys were not encouraging as far as their contributions to reducing HIV incidence," the report says.
It further added that apart from condom use with non-marital, non-cohabiting sex partners which was high among the 15-24 year olds, all other sexual behavior indicators included in the analysis have remained stagnant.
The report also observes that being single and living in cohabitation have been strongly associated with very high risk of HIV infection compared to living in marital union.
It was also discovered that educated women rarely fall pregnant, while domestic workers and women with primary education consistently recorded high HIV prevalence.
" The two variables are closely related to the impact of poverty on HIV transmission", says the report.
Source: http://allafrica.com/stories/200707310966.html
posted by AIDS-Care-Watch at 10:53 am
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